2. Has the brand (company) disclosed the annual absolute carbon footprint of its 'own operations' (Scope 1 & 2) and has the brand already reduced or compensated 10% of these emissions in the last 5 years?

3. Has the brand (company) set a target to reduce its absolute ‘own operations’ carbon emissions by at least 20% within the next 5 years?

Beiersdorf aims to reduce its CO2 emissions by 30% per product sold by 2020, compared to 2005. However, total target reductions for its greenhouse gas emissions of own operations are not specified (see link, page 32).

4. Is at least 25% of the electricity used by the brand (company) generated from renewable resources, such as wind or solar energy?

From 2016, Beiersdorf plans to convert the power supply at all locations in Germany to green electricity. The company reports to have established in-house generation of renewable energy to cover some electricity needs at a number of its sites, but does not disclose how much or what percentage of total electricity use this represents (see link, page 27-28).

Questions about Environmental Policy

4 out of 18

1. Does the brand have a policy to phase out all possible harmful substances?

Beiersdorf does not communicate a policy to phase out all possible harmful substances. Instead it performs its own assessment of these substances. If a substance is found to be unsafe the consequences range from product recall to substance phase out (see link, page 21-23).

2. Does the brand refrain from using the high hazard (red coded) chemicals as listed in the Skin Deep database of the Environmental Working Group, and if still used, does the brand give scientific account for the safe use of it?

Nivea is listed on the SkinDeep database using an abundance of chemicals coded as ‘red’, and it does clarify on a number of chemical (groups) such as parabens, but does not give a clarification on the full spectrum of possible hazardous substances used.

3. Does the brand strictly apply the precautionary principle (=banning) for all possible harmful substances such as parabens, also when the scientific evidence for possible harm is limited, unclear or debated?

4. Does the brand refrain from using any microplastics for all of its products?

Beiersdorf claims its has committed to no longer using polyethylene particles in its care products and is working on more natural, biodegradable replacements (see also link at labour conditions question 1). But, the use of microplastics (including polyethylene) was still identified in Nivea products (effective by March 2016).

16. Does the brand (company) publish its annual material use footprint, or alternatively material footprints for each sold product, and does the brand have an effective policy in place to reduce the overall environmental impact of material use?

Questions about Labour Conditions/ Fair Trade

1 out of 4

1. Does the brand (company) purchase tropical ingredients such as palm oil, cocoa butter, coconut oil, carnauba wax from sources (e.g. plantations) that are certified to e.g. have no child labor and no forced labour, and provide a better living standard for the farmers and workers who produce these tropical materials?

2. Does the brand (company) purchase at least 50% of its tropical ingredients such as palm oil, cocoa butter, coconut oil, carnauba wax from sources (e.g. plantations) that are certified to e.g. have no child labor and no forced labour, and provide a better living standard for the farmers and workers who produce the tropical ingredients?

3. Does the brand (company) purchase mined raw materials such as mica and gold from sources (e.g. mines) that are certified to e.g. have no child labor and no forced labour, and provide a better living standard for the farmers and workers who produce the raw materials, and/or is the brand equally involved in significant initiatives to achieve this?

Neither Beiersdorf nor Nivea mention the topic of social risk or certification for its mined ingredients from low wage countries.

4. Does the brand (company) purchase at least 50% of its mined raw materials such as mica and gold from sources (e.g. mines) that are certified to e.g. have no child labor and no forced labour, and provide a better living standard for the workers who produce the raw materials, and/or is the brand equally involved in significant initiatives to achieve this?